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2002  tbird
Colors for 2002
Neiman Marcus Limited Edition
Colors 2002 to 2005
  Black
  Red
  Blue

Colors Compared

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2002 Owners photos p1
2002 Owners photos p2

 
Our Thunderbird
Motor Trend's 2002 Car of the Year
 eMotion! Reports.com "Car of the Year"
Motor Weeks "Best Convertible for 2002"
Women journalists - favorite Car of the Year
Auto Interiors - Best Interior

 

2002
Ford Thunderbird
Colors
You'll find the 2002  Thunderbird in these colors:
Inspiration Yellow, Thunderbird Blue, Evening Black, Whisper White, & Torch Red
 (metallic)
.. ..
.
Limited Production Ford Thunderbird- 25,000 per year  oops! - make that  31368 for the 2002!
VIN # decoder
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Lighting & cameras & your monitor settings affect the colors.
Note: For larger photos, visit the '02 Owner's  pages.  Photos are by owners, some unknown
photos have tags so hover your cursor over them to read.
Are you buying a Used 2002 Ford Thunderbird?
Check this page for the loose items that came with the 2002 T-bird.
Check this page to learn some of the differences between the 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2005.
Check this page for "Original Equipment Manufacturer" - OEM
Check this page for the differences between Canadian T-birds and US T-birds
No Owner's Manual?  A FREE pdf file download is available from Motorcraft 
click 4 updated pdf file of color statistics
The Thunderbird is a convertible with an optional hardtop.  A soft top is standard for all.
Production 
Totals*
Thunderbird photo by Marv
Evening Black (UA)
Premium with black hardtop
T-bird photo by TBird Tim
Evening Black 
Premium with Performance White hardtop
photo by pat casey
Neiman Marcus Edition
Evening Black with Satin Silver Metallic hardtop
chrome NM wheels
# built

8739

(NM=200)

Note that the FIVE colors offered are the same color range as in the first Thunderbirds for 1955; they even used two of the original names for the colors, Thunderbird Blue and Torch Red, though the Thunderbird Blue is not the same as the original which was a non-metallic light turquoise. .
.
photo by Jimmy fitzpatrick see Your Rides for larger view
Thunderbird Blue (LY)
Premium with blue hardtop
photo by Dot
Thunderbird Blue
Premium with Performance White hardtop
photo by owner David Just - see Your Rides for larger view
Thunderbird Blue 
Canadian Standard with black softtop
[USA Deluxe wheels]
7406
A word about the color "Thunderbird Blue" - The name was originally used for 1 of the first colors on  the 1955 thunderbird.  . The color is a light turquoise (light aqua).  In keeping with that, the new color is also a light turquoise  with a "grey look"  in metallic ('mica' is what I'm hearing now from workers at the plant)and it shows as aqua.  It is not a true blue color. Flat or metallic, the color is a perfect choice for this body style. In fact, most colors will look good on this car.  Hope the Thunderbird stays around for alot of color changes.

Click here for more about 
Thunderbird Blue

The soft top on all the Thunderbirds  is "midnight black" & it is a real fabric softtop  - not vinyl.  The soft top is also a powered top with one center latch on the header. It can be raised in about 6-8 seconds.  The soft top should not leak - if it does, it's out of adjustment somewhere. .
.
photo by C Norris
Torch Red (D3)
Premium with torch red hardtop
photo by Bill Green's - see Your Rides for larger view
Torch Red Premium 
with Performance White hardtop
photographer unknown
Torch Red with Black HardTop
7244
Torch Red is another "retro" color name from the original 1955 thunderbird.  One change though, the 55s  came with body color hardtops if you ordered a hardtop.  Other color tops were not introduced until the 1956 Thunderbirds were marketed.  Click here for more Torch Red photos .
.
Mark Ray's car - see your Rides for larger view
Whisper White (W5)
Premium with Whisper White Hardtop
About White - there are two colors of white - the body color of Whisper White  comes with a Whisper white top.

The other 4 body colors could be ordered with a  Performance White porthole hardtop.

photo by tbird tim
Whisper White Premium
with Black HardTop
4188
There are two wheel styles available for these cars - the 21 spoke "deluxe" which is similar to the one that has been on all the Concept Thunderbirds will ONLY be available as a painted  grey wheel.  A flat bladed, 7 spoke is the style for the premium chromed wheel. Update: The Neiman Marcus edition has the chrome 21 spoke making that wheel unique to the NM model.   See the "wheel styles" page for pictures .
.
photo by owner William Schultz  see Your Rides for larger photo
Inspiration Yellow (C5)
Canadian Standard with yellow hardtop
(USA Deluxe wheels)
White walls were added after Deb's purchase
Inspiration Yellow
Premium with performance white hardtop
photographer unknown
Inspiration Yellow
Premium with Evening Black hardtop
3791
The cute little "parking lights" in front are a no-cost option on all the models so even a top of the line premium can be had without them and they do have an insert if you don't order the parking lights. Exception to the rule: Canada - inserts only - no lights available except aftermarkett The full yellow and black interior available in this color are very reminescent of the interiors in the late '55 color of GoldenRod Yellow. One area of the country met to have a "hardtop exchange day" where they tried out several different color combos on their cars - "just to see what they look like."  You'll find their photos on another site:
"tbird tim's photos"
.
 
 Final 2002 Production Total;
*These are the Final production Totals as of August 4, 2006 - known about but unable to verify until 2006.  These numbers supercede any previously published stats for the 2002 Thunderbird.
Here's the updated, detailed PDF file breakdown of the colors:
31368*
Trivia Information for the 2002
Inspiration Yellow and Thunderbird Blue were only produced for the model year 2002 - They are considered "fashion colors."  Read the 2003 page to find the new fashion colors for the 03 model year.  Official Production of the 2002 started June 5, 2001 and ended Nov 14, 2002 even though you will find some with earlier door ID tags - as early as April 2001.
 
Interior Colors


Body Color

Standard Black Ink Black
Accent
Partial 
Red
Accent*
Full
Red
Accent*
Partial 
Yellow
Accent*
Full 
Yellow Accent*
Partial 
Blue
Accent*
Full 
Blue
Accent*
. Black Hardtop Body Color hardtop Performance White Hardtop . Soft Top 
Color Black
. s o o o no no no no . o o o . s
. s o o o no no no  no . o o o . s
s o o o no no no no . o o no . s
s o no no no no o o . o o o . s
s o no no o o no no . o o o . s
Neiman Marcus Special Interior Color no no no no no no no . no Satin
Silver
no . s
s=standard
o=optional
no=no!
* these interiors are only available on the deluxe ordered with hardtop and all premium models 

Interior Colors are as follows:
Midnight Black (BW) - test touch up interior paint before using to be sure you have the correct shade.
Torch Red (BR) Requires Interior Color Accent Packages (68C or 68D)
 

 

   Vin #s may "appear" to be higher than the actual production #s. 

Order Codes 
100A = Deluxe wheels with no hardtop, no traction control
110A - Premium wheels, traction control, no hardtop
120A - Deluxe wheels, with hardtop, may or may not have traction control - no stats to differentiate that but alll Canadian cars had traction control.
130A - Premium Wheels, traction control, with hardtop

There have been only 2 recalls on the 2002 - see this page for details
Two models are available - Deluxe and Premium.  - all convertibles, both could be ordered with the removable porthole hardtop - so I sorted thru the different optionss to find the differences between the models (not many) 
  1.  dual traction control is not available on the base deluxe model without porthole top (the plain convertible) - this will be a rare model
  2. chrome wheels are stock on the premium model;  grey painted wheels are stock on the deluxe.  There are no optional wheels.
  3. 2-tone interior is not available on the base deluxe model without porthole top - that may have changed during production - don't know for sure - update - full accent interior options were available for the delux convertibles according to the stats in hand - possibly only for the Canadian market.
  4. Neiman Marcus edition is a different story - it was a package deal - only came one way.
That's it for differences unless you live in Canada.
There are two wheel styles available for these cars - the 21 spoke "deluxe" which is similar to the one that has been on all the Concept Thunderbirds is ONLY  available as a painted  grey wheel.  A flat bladed, 7 spoke is the style for the premium chromed wheel. : The Neiman Marcus edition has the chrome 21 spoke making that wheel unique to the NM model.   See the "wheel styles" page for pictures.
A very few early models were supplied with Firestone tires however most were Michelins.
msrp - loaded it's $40,245 in the states or barebones, it's $35,945; Canada looks higher due to currency exchange rate.
Trivia:
2002 MSRP for fully loaded, full accent interior was $39,745 early in production and changed to $39,945 by January 2002 and then to $40,245 by late spring 2002.  Note how it kept creeping up on the special edition price.  Some dealers charged premiums up to $15,000 over MSRP - not helping sales one bit for a high ppriced Ford.  With the economy going down during 2001, the extra premiums put a sour taste in many customers mouths and only those that just had to have the car, paid the premiums, leaving cars on the lots for months.  Now (Sept 2004) dealers are offering as much as 10 to 12 K off on 2003s and 2004s - of course, Ford is offering those dealers incentives, too.
Check out some new owners cars
Now - onto the interiors
or do you want to see it in topless mode?

Interesting trivia - A number of T-birds were originally ordered in black and either dealer or customer asked to change to another color later in the year- before order went to production.  Some salesmen forgot that when the body color is changed, the hardtop color is NOT automatically changed and most customers were unaware of the problem.  So some of those color cars you see on the road with black hardtops, did not deliberately come with a black hardtop.  Some customers came in to pick up their "red"  or "blue" car only to discover that it still had a black hardtop.  It also happened with the yellow and white colors.  Nothing wrong with that and that color combo is rarer than the all one color car and a black top could have been deliberately ordered with another color body anyway.

 Several cars have come thru in color combinations not specified in the brochures.  White with red tops have been identified, also black with blue top.  Do you have one of those odd combos??  According to the stats in hand now - those odd combos never were officially produced at the factory - possiby done at some dealership as a prank to draw in customers or done by the customer themselves after buying the car. Exception - there is one known black with blue top  - with blue accent interior - for a Ford executive - it is not in the stats so assume it runs around with Michigan manufacturer plates and may have to be parted out at some time in the future or was a special refit for the exec.  Not clear on its past other than it exists.  Galpin Ford of California has also done a number of custom paint and interiors for some of their T-birds and those are identified as customs by Galpin.

Thoughts from the past since production is over:
Colors I'd like to see on this car: the "chestnut" currently available in the Lincoln Mercury Line and Ford trucks - it's a lovely
 metallic "rootbeer" color, then add a cream top and tan interior.  Another close color would be a burnt orange with either a white or cream top.  Still another color would be a dark forest green with a pearl white top - very classy and great with a cream interior or aged saddle leather color interior (would be nice if the designers would make sure the dash & door trim echoed the color.
 
 

If you've reached this page thru a search engine, be aware that this is a personal site, not affiliated with Ford M.C.  The information included here is to help you understand the ins and outs of the 2002 thru 2005 Thunderbird. To visit with other owners, check the clubs page

 

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